(AP) NEW ORLEANS A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused toissue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern forany children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of thepeace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that mostinterracial marriages do not last long.

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races thatway," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles andpiles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use mybathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed racecouple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.

Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites,along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to theconclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspringof such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.

"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such amarriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won'thelp put them through it."

If he did an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.

"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.

Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during his career, all in the past 2 1/2 years.

Beth Humphrey, 30, and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond,say they will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing adiscrimination complaint.

Humphrey, an account manager for a marketing firm, said she andMcKay, a welder, just returned to Louisiana. She is white and he isblack. She plans to enroll in the University of New Orleans to pursue amasters degree in minority politics.

"That was one thing that made this so unbelievable," she said. "It's not something you expect in this day and age."

Humphrey said she called Bardwell on Oct. 6 to inquire about gettinga marriage license signed. She says Bardwell's wife told her thatBardwell will not sign marriage licenses for interracial couples.Bardwell suggested the couple go to another justice of the peace in theparish who agreed to marry them.

"We are looking forward to having children," Humphrey said. "And allour friends and co-workers have been very supportive. Except for this,we're typical happy newlyweds."

"It is really astonishing and disappointing to see this come up in2009," said American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana attorney KatieSchwartzmann. She said the Supreme Court ruled in 1967 "that thegovernment cannot tell people who they can and cannot marry."

The ACLU sent a letter to the Louisiana Judiciary Committee, whichoversees the state justices of the peace, asking them to investigateBardwell and recommending "the most severe sanctions available, becausesuch blatant bigotry poses a substantial threat of serious harm to theadministration of justice."

"He knew he was breaking the law, but continued to do it," Schwartzmann said.

According to the clerk of court's office, application for a marriagelicense must be made three days before the ceremony because there is a72-hour waiting period. The applicants are asked if they havepreviously been married. If so, they must show how the marriage ended,such as divorce.

Other than that, all they need is a birth certificate and Social Security card.

The license fee is $35, and the license must be signed by aLouisiana minister, justice of the peace or judge. The original isreturned to the clerk's office.

"I've been a justice of the peace for 34 years and I don't thinkI've mistreated anybody," Bardwell said. "I've made some mistakes, butyou have to. I didn't tell this couple they couldn't get married. Ijust told them I wouldn't do it."

(This version corrects the date of the Supreme Court ruling.)http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/15/interracial-couple-denied_n_322784.html

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races thatway," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles andpiles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use mybathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."